In Syria’s Tartous province, a brutal attack unfolded on Monday resulting in the deaths of four individuals, including a 12-year-old boy. The incident took place in Haref Nemra, a village nestled in the Baniyas countryside, predominantly inhabited by an Alawite population. Provincial officials have released a statement concerning the attack. Despite the perpetrators being unidentified and still at large, Tartous province’s general security forces are actively pursuing them in a bid to ensure justice. Amer al-Madani, the head of security for Baniyas, shared this update through a video on the province’s official social media page.
Kamal, a local resident from a neighboring village and related to three of the victims, chose to speak on condition of anonymity due to fear of potential retribution. According to Kamal, who referenced accounts from three other witnesses, the assailants, believed to be masked government security forces, arrived in search of the mukhtar—a local community leader—before indiscriminately opening fire. The attack left four people dead, including an elderly member and a young boy from the same family. However, these details remain unverified independently, with no official statement from authorities regarding the incident’s specifics.
The unrest has prompted panic and displacement, as reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based conflict monitor. They noted that numerous families from the Baniyas area evacuated to nearby mountainous regions. Kamal confirmed this observation, stating that fear has gripped the community to the extent that main roads are often deserted.
On the same day, another violent episode occurred in Homs, a city in western Syria characterized by its religious diversity. Two unidentified gunmen struck in the Karm al-Zeitoun neighborhood, resulting in the deaths of six individuals, including three children and their mother from the Alawite sect, along with two guests from the Sunni community. The children’s father survived but sustained grave injuries. As of now, local authorities have not issued an official response to this tragic event.
The increased violence against Syria’s Alawite community is alarming, with numerous accounts of targeted attacks and massacres surfacing. In March, Islamist-led forces targeted coastal areas such as Latakia and Baniyas, claiming over 1,000 Alawite lives through systematic assaults involving execution and arson, causing widespread displacement.
These coordinated attacks, among the most devastating in Syria’s recent history, saw militants ransack Alawite-populated coastal regions, as well as parts of Hama and Homs, resulting in the killing of civilians, including entire families, both at home and on the streets. Reports from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights indicated approximately 200 fatalities in Baniyas alone.
Eyewitness accounts point to the attackers as hardline Sunni Islamists, featuring both Syria-based foreign fighters and ex-members of the defunct insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which previously spearheaded the overthrow of former President Bashar al-Assad. However, local Sunnis seeking vengeance for historical grievances attributed to Assad-affiliated Alawites were also implicated.
There is a complex tension where some Sunnis attribute blame to the Alawite community for Assad’s former violent crackdowns, while Alawites themselves recount suffering under his regime. Internationally, there are calls for the new Syrian government to safeguard minorities and curb the escalating violence.